So today I wake up to the sound of the postman knocking on my door. Excitedly, I run and sign the paperwork for the parcel has arrived... The Xbox 360 I bought on eBay is finally here! Fast forward a few minutes later to me turning on the console and starting setup. As I go through the wireless and internet connection test an error pops up:

This console has been banned

Stunned, I run to my phone to check the item description... I knew for a fact that it never mentioned that when I looked at it. Alas, it seems the seller added the banned detail the day after I started watching the item. Of course, like any idiot eBay buyer, I stopped looking at the item description after I had added it to my watch list; and just placed my last minute bid as the auction near completion. As my brain starts drawing to the conclusion that I now have no legal footing to stand on; the excited optimistic nature I had not 10 minutes ago is replaced with stunned anger.

Now I know the main comment here will be that I should have check the description before buying. I understand that, I truly do. But the negative Nancy in me is just seething at the moment... Why doesn't eBay inform you of an item description change, instead of requiring you to manually check for any relevant changes. Any other seller/distributor has to plainly advertise when a product description has been modified?

Looking at the Xbox support site, I can already tell they're not going to be much help. The Support section regarding consoles pretty much says "tough shit" and specifically informs you that they cannot tell you why the console was banned; which I find odd.

Ugh, I don't even know why I'm typing this... I think I just needed to vent, not that's its helped... All I can think of now is how much of an idiot I feel like

A word to any eBay buyer... Check the item description a SECOND time before offering any money...

As rumours of the JLA movie script being thrown to the
wayside emerge; it’s hard to not think that DC Entertainment have no footing in
what exactly they want to do for their all-star team up premier. Whether it be keeping
current movie character continuity or starting fresh, one thing is certain… DC
has an uphill battle trying to get this movie out.

So with that said, here’s my two cents on what I think the
future of the JLA team up should be.

First off, why does the JLA have to be such a big
team up? Is it because Marvel did it already, and thereby DC has to at least
match up with its biggest competitor? With the way DC Entertainment’s current
movie line-up is shaped; this seems entirely impossible. Right now we have a
Batman secluded in his own semi-realistic world, an unreleased Superman that
could either be grounded in reality or surreal in its own way (with Zod being
the first major villain, the archaic nature of his enemies can only really go
upwards from there.) No one knows what’s happening with Wonder Woman. Flash,
Aquaman and many other key characters haven’t even been discussed as movie
options recently. And let’s not even discuss what happened with Green Lantern
(although to be honest, I think they took the right direction by putting him
almost immediately in contact with the Corps)

Marvel got it right by creating a cohesive universe where
each and every character introduced was within the same continuity. With that,
a team up of any size can be possible, because they all occupy the same matter
of time and space to do so.

Marvel created a strong Avengers movie by starting with each
characters origin and implementation into the Marvel U, eventually bringing
them all together towards storyline that had been playing within the background
of all the separate movies (Iron Man and Hulk was covering S.H.I.E.L.D, Cap and
Thor covering the Cosmic Cube). Why Can’t DC do the same idealology, but in
reverse?

For instance, let’s say JLA is the starting movie... Why not
have a brief introduction to character backstory, followed by the first act
meeting and team up of everyone involved; with the second and third act being
the fight and resolution of the looming threat that brought them together;
respectively. Sounds a lot like Marvel’s Avengers story arc right? So be it.
What makes it different is that without Marvel’s character-building backstory prior
to the team movie, DC uses the future individual story arcs to build their
characters, showcasing their history while also growing from the issue faced
while working together.

So then, who should be in the JLA movie? From my
point of view, I think a simple, small team would suffice. Even just the
Trinity would work well in my opinion… Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Being
a DC-only comics fan, I cannot be 100% accurate in thinking this; but I feel
that these three heroes are easily the most recognisable leads in and out of
the DC comic universe. Batman is pretty much a household name nowadays,
Superman is a character that young and old can easily understand (and will
become more well-known with the upcoming movie), and while Wonder Woman may be a bit of a wildcard
from the outsiders point of view; I feel there is a basic understanding of who
she is. From there, character backstory and personalities can be fleshed out in
individual titles. At the end of the JLA movie, a simple end scene of the three
deciding who should join the JLA can easily be placed, with possibly 10 or so
faces on display showcasing the contenders. If DC did it right, they could then
use social networking to allow fans to vote for their favourites to appear in
the 2nd JLA movie, with possible backstory films created beforehand.

With this, you have three character movies already
highlighted as future movies (possibly two, if Man of Steel can be assimilated
into this world correctly) and the chance to bring more character in with
relative ease.

Now this is only one way of rebooting the DC movie universe
into a more coherent package, bit I can tell you right now it’s not the only
one out there; and far from the better options. Despite all of this though, it
seems DC still can get its head straight when trying to align their franchise
into a structure that viewers of all walks of life can enjoy. Whatever DC’s JLA
movie becomes, I really do hope that it is a great film, and one that rivals –
or surpasses – its Marvel counterpart.